John 10 - The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible

10:1–2 Verily, verily. Truly (see note at 1:51). sheepfold. A walled-in place of refuge for flocks, especially at night. The people of God (sheep) are overseen by God’s appointed leaders (shepherd ), a common picture of Israel in the Old Testament (Isa. 56:9–12; Jer. 3:15; 23:1–4; 25:32–38; Ezek. 34:1–31; Zech. 11:1–17). thief and a robber. Any leader who uses and harms the church, here especially the Pharisees (9:13–34,39–41). entereth in by the door. All who would hold office in the church must have spiritually entered God’s people through faith in Jesus Christ (who is the door; v. 7; see 1 Tim. 4:16).

10:1–18 Through the veiled speech of a parable about sheep, Christ called believers in Israel to abandon the destructive spiritual leadership of the Pharisees and priests who opposed Him and His disciples (7:32; 9:22; 11:47–50). He presented Himself as the King (shepherd ) of the true Israel, constituted of believers from both the Jews and the nations (v. 16), the King who must die to save His people (vv. 11,15,17–18).

10:3–5 porter. The man who keeps the door, looks after the sheep overnight, and unlocks the door of the sheepfold every morning when the shepherd comes. He knows the shepherd, as do the sheep. calleth his own sheep by name. The spiritual leader has a personal and loving relationship with each member of the flock under his care. know his voice. God’s people follow the faithful preacher but reject false teachers. God’s Spirit gives them discernment to recognize the truth of His Word (1 John 2:18–27; 4:1–6).

10:6 parable. A proverb or saying with a concealed meaning (16:25,29; not the same Greek word commonly translated “parable,” as in Matt. 13:3, etc.). Being spiritually blind, many who heard this parable failed to understand it.

10:7–9 I am the door. Christ is the only Mediator through whom people must come to God and salvation (14:6). All that . . . came before me. The context is not history, for Christ affirmed the prophets (5:35,39,46), but the parable in which the shepherd comes in the morning, as opposed to thieves and robbers like the Pharisees (v. 1), who sneak in during the night.

10:10 steal . . . kill . . . destroy. The false teachers reveal their likeness to the Devil (8:44). have life, and . . . more abundantly. Christ and His leaders do not exploit the people but serve them for the purpose of their eternal and overflowing happiness in God (4:10,14).

10:11 good shepherd. A shepherd was an image commonly used of a king, both of God (Ps. 23:1; Ezek. 34:11–16) and of David (Ps. 78:70–72; Ezek. 34:23–24). As God incarnate (1:1,14) and the Son of David, Christ is the only King of the church. giveth his life. In a stunning exchange the King gave life to His people (v. 10) by dying in their place on the cross. The good shepherd is the Lamb of God (1:29; 13:1; 19:36).

10:12–13 hireling. A hired hand. The minister who is not called by God to this work but who does it only for personal gain will not love the people enough to face false teachers and persecutors (wolf; Matt. 7:15; 10:16; Acts 20:29).

10:14–15 know . . . and am known. Christ (the good shepherd ) shares a close relationship of love with His people, a love that stretches beyond head knowledge to experiential and vital knowledge (v. 27; 17:3). As the Father knoweth me. Christ’s relationship with His people mirrors His relationship with God the Father (17:21–23). lay down my life for the sheep. Christ died for those He knows because the Father gave them to Him in election (v. 29), which is not for every man (v. 26). This is the doctrine of particular and effective redemption (Rom. 8:32,35; Eph. 5:25; Titus 2:14).

10:16 other sheep. Converts from the Gentile world. hear my voice. Not directly, but through the faithful preaching of Christ’s Word (Eph. 2:17). one fold. Christ will not build two churches, for Jews and Gentiles (Eph. 2:14–15), respectively, but unites saved sinners from all nations into one church ruled by the Word of the one King (one shepherd; Eccl. 12:11; Ezek. 34:23; 37:24).

10:17–18 love me, because. The Father has loved His Son from eternity (3:35; 5:20; 17:24); this refers to God’s delight in Christ’s obedience (Phil. 2:8–9). power to lay it down, and . . . take it again. Christ did not die as a helpless victim, nor was He passive in His resurrection, but He exercised His sovereignty as God to voluntarily give His life and then rise from the dead. commandment. The Son’s saving work is essentially an act of obedience to the Father’s will (see note at 6:38).

10:19–21 division . . . again. See 9:16. blind. This whole narrative is within the context of the man healed of his blindness (9:1–41).

10:22 feast of the dedication. Modern Hanukkah, celebrated in December to commemorate the purification of the temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes in the second century BC.

10:23 Solomon’s porch. A covered area of columns (Acts 3:11; 5:12).

10:24–25 If thou be the Christ. By His miracles (works) and teachings (told you) Christ had shown Himself to be their Messiah, but He had not used that term in speaking to the Jewish leaders because they were looking for a political liberator (6:15).

10:26–27 believe not, because ye are not of my sheep. Those who are not God’s elect and redeemed people (vv. 11,29) will not trust in Christ (6:37) despite all His miracles and teachings (v. 25). God’s sovereign grace must overcome our unbelief (5:40). My sheep . . . follow me. The defining mark of those for whom Christ died is their faith and obedience to His Word. He died for them, and they in turn live for Him (2 Cor. 5:15; Titus 2:14). hear my voice. The power of Christ operates through the Word of Christ to produce life (5:24–25).

10:28–29 shall never perish. The Greek uses a double negative for emphasis: “will certainly never be damned.” pluck. Seize, the same verb used of the wolf (v. 12). False teaching and persecution cannot cause true believers to ultimately fall away from Christ. my hand. An expression for Christ’s power, which preserves believers so that they in turn will persevere (6:39; Jer. 32:40). gave them me. Christ’s sheep are His eternally elected people, chosen by the Father and committed to the Son for salvation through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:3–4; 2 Thess. 2:13–14; 2 Tim. 1:9; see note at 6:37).

10:30 one. The word is not masculine but neuter in Greek, implying that the Father and the Son are not one person but one in essence, eternity, power, and will (v. 38), again provoking His enemies to kill Him for claiming deity (v. 33; 5:17–23; 8:58–59).

10:34–35 Ye are gods. Citing Ps. 82:6, addressed to men whom God would judge for abusing their power as rulers; perhaps an implicit warning to the Jewish leaders that God would judge them if they persisted in walking in the darkness (8:12; 9:39–41; Ps. 82:5) and unjustly killed God’s Son. the word of God . . . the scripture cannot be broken. Jesus believed and taught that the Old Testament is the infallible truth of God (Matt. 5:17–18).

10:36 sanctified. Set apart for sacred purposes (17:19). If it was legitimate to speak of human rulers as “gods,” in a qualified sense, how much more is it right, when speaking of the Son who was sent by the Father, to call Christ “God” in an unqualified sense (1:1; 20:28)?

10:37 works of my Father. Miracles by divine power, a public testimony to Christ (5:36).

10:38 the Father is in me, and I in him. Language of union or oneness (17:21,23). Christ’s miracles indicate that He shares the same divine power as the Father (14:10–11).

10:40 abode. Remained.

10:41 resorted. Came.

Thoughts for Personal/Family Worship: Chapter 10

1. Jesus claimed to be the great Shepherd of God’s people. He is the King who loves His people and cares for them intimately and individually. No one is truly a sheep in Christ’s flock who does not listen to Him and follow Him. What does this parable teach us about true discipleship to Jesus?
2. While the image of a shepherd is comforting, Jesus used it to call people to follow Him in the midst of thieves, robbers, and fierce wolves. Indeed, Jesus is an unusual Shepherd, for He defends His flock by dying for His sheep. What spiritual dangers did Jesus describe in this parable? How can we find safety from them?
3. God has given to Jesus a particular people, His “sheep,” to save and bring to eternal life (vv. 27–29). Christ knows them in a special way (v. 14), for He died for them in particular (vv. 11,15). They will hear His voice in Scripture and obey Him (vv. 4,16,27), and only they will believe in Him (vv. 26). He will never lose them, for the power of God keeps them safe (vv. 28–29). These verses epitomize the doctrines of election, particular redemption, effectual calling, and perseverance of the saints. How do these truths give comfort to believers? How do they encourage evangelism?